Andrew Cuomo plans mega-fundraisers

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is planning a string of high-profile fundraisers over the next six months, including two events in Florida and a Paul Simon concert, according to a rough outline circulating among potential donors.

Cuomo, widely viewed as a potential 2016 presidential hopeful, reported in a filing last month having more than $22 million in his campaign war chest for his 2014 reelection as governor. The Democrat currently has no opponent on the horizon, and his approval ratings have generally held strong.

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There are six major events slated for the coming months, including a March 7 “intimate dinner at The Lambs Club,” with just 10 tables available at $15,000 per seat, according to the list his fundraisers have sent around.

There are two events on April 2, in Palm Beach and Miami, Fla., with a chair level at $100,000.

There’s also a May 16 New York Yankees game at $5,000 per head, and a June 25 “gala” — a Paul Simon concert that also has a chair-level spot at $100,000.

The final event event is in the Hamptons, on July 6, for “fireworks and cocktails,” according to the list.

Cuomo aides characterized the schedule as no more aggressive than in past years.

But it comes as Cuomo is getting increasing attention as a potential 2016 Democratic presidential contender. Cuomo publicly insists he’s not eying a run, but few in Democratic circles take his denial seriously.

Cuomo has been an aggressive fundraiser for the past several years, as a gubernatorial candidate and as an attorney general candidate before that, in 2006. His first campaign, in 2002, crashed on the shoals shortly before the Democratic primary.

Cuomo’s cash dash is also coming as he faces a more turbulent time than he has in the past two years, and as national media is beginning to focus on his tenure. He recently lost his newly hired communications director, Allyson Gollust, and a top aide garnered unwanted national attention last week for reading from the personnel file of a fired state worker who claimed he was sacked after praising the administration in the media without direct permission to speak.

Critics of Cuomo’s agenda have also been more vocal, including his handpicked state Democratic chair, Stephanie Miner, the mayor of Syracuse, who criticized his budget plans in a recent op-ed piece.